Gratitude, Our Ofrenda and VIP Day

Hello Magnolia Families,

Thanks for all of your patience as our blog site was undergoing unexpected maintenance! It sure has been a busy month so far. Here’s our latest blog, along with some reminders. We hope you enjoy the glimpse into all of our fun and learning this month 🙂

Reminders

Rainy days are not far away! Please be sure to check your clothing bins so that we have spare clothes for days when we just can’t resist jumping in puddles
Speaking of Rain, here are some suggestions for rain suits (which i’ve recently discovered and immediately got for Esra) that ensure your child’s clothes stay mostly dry as they enjoy playing outside in the rain!
Have any borrowed school clothes? Make sure to return them when you can- and if you have clothes to donate to our extra clothes bin we welcome them! We are especially in need of socks, underwear and pants! Thank you 🙂
Thank you classroom coordinators for sending out reminders about volunteer jobs! Please remember: if laundry isn’t picked up or flowers are a few days late its TOTALLY ok!!! We promise.
RSVP for the third annual Lantern Walk! This year it will be located at the UAC- check parentsquare for details and let us know you will be there!

Día de Muertos in Magnolia

¡Feliz día de Muertos, Familias de Magnolia!

Día de los Muertos (or Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead) rituals of Mexico and Central America acknowledge death as a part of life, through celebrations and remembrance. This family-centered celebration honors departed friends and relatives with food, music, and community. This year, we began this study with a question: how do we know if something is living and non-living? We learned all about living and non-living (and once living) things- and talked about what living things need vs. non-living things. Living things need air, water, food, and a home (plus so much more) while non-living things no longer/never required these things. We learned that this holiday honors and celebrates friends and relatives of ours that have passed away/died/are no longer living.

This holiday is deeply rooted in indigenous traditions and customs. We learned that the indigenous Nahua people of central Mexico believed that life is cyclical- people are born and die, then live on as ancestors that visit us once a year during the day of the dead. The Nahua people did not think of death as something to be afraid of- instead they embraced it as a part of life. On the day of the dead, our ancestors are believed to visit ofrendas, and families spend time in community remembering their loved ones and celebrating their lives.

The classroom has been full of opportunities to learn about Día de los Muertos. We built a beautiful ofrenda to visit so we can remember and honor our ancestors. Families brought in photographs of their departed loved ones (family members, pets, ancestors etc…) Our conversations about life/death, living and non-living has guided our understanding of the Day of the Dead traditions. We learned about the beautiful cempasuchil flower and how it represents the earth as well as the sun in the sky. Papel picado was placed above the ofrenda to represent air and sky. A small water basin was offered to our ancestors who visit the ofrenda on their journey after life. We lit incense outside to notice the direction that the smoke travels and smell the sweet smoky scent. Incense represents the element of fire. And of course, we decorated sugar skulls!

The Three Sisters: Harmony and Collaboration in nature

Indigenous people of Turtle Island (North America) planted corn, beans and squash together. Why these three crops? Corn stalks provided support for the beans to grow and climb. The beans provided special bacteria in the soil that helped the corn roots grow tall. The squash and pumpkins provided ground cover so that weeds could not grow and would keep the soil moist. The legend of the crops, known as the “three sisters” – sisters who would never be apart from one another- sisters who should be planted together, harvested together and celebrated together. Isn’t it amazing that nature works together in these ways?

The story of the Three Sisters (squash, corn and beans) reminds us that Fall is a time of harvest and abundance. When we tend to our gardens, food grows. If there is plenty to go around, we share it with people we care about.

A Gratitude Poem

We learned a poem that we say before we eat lunch together each day! It reminds us that our food had a loooong journey before it made it to our lunch boxes. Many foods started from seeds, that were tended by farmers, that were harvested by fieldworkers, that were driven to grocery stores, where our grownups buy the food, then cook the food, then serve the food! We read a book called “We are Grateful-Otsaliheliga” (pronounced oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac. This book tells the journey of a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for things big and small. Magnolia friends brainstormed things they are grateful for at circle time.

Thank you precious Earth, for this beautiful food
that will nourish our body
and help us grow
May people all over the world, and all living things:
Have good food to eat, a home to live in, and many reasons to be happy.

VIP Day

On VIP Day, we welcomed friends and family to the ECC. It’s a special tradition and lots of fun to have grownups that love us get a chance to see what we do at school! VIPs enjoyed choice time and even were invited to practice our gratitude poem, and gather at a special festive tablescape created by the children.

Around Magnolia

Fall art, small groups, art with Julianne, music with music teacher Aaron, family visits, a disco dance party, birthday celebrations and so much more!